Chicken

3.2 Flu Que · May 13, 2013

We've completed 3 contests and have received calls in every category except chicken. What do we need to do that we currently aren't? We process the hell out of it by scraping the skins to achieve the bite through skin that everyone says you have to have. Someone suggested that we need to dunk the chicken into sauce rather than brushing it on. Could such a minor change be the answer. Our chicken always tastes and looks great - we spend more time on this category than all of the others combined. What can we do to get a call?

ewchippe · May 13, 2013

I was at Manhattan this weekend too, and I did well in the two that you did poor in. My pork and brisket was bad and you did well in those. I think the chicken looks good, but I have found that when I brush the sauce on, that it sometimes pulls some rub with it which could cause some bites with little rub and others with a lot. I am also a rookie as I have only competed 3 times also, so I may not know what I am talking about.

3.2 Flu Que · May 13, 2013

That was a fun contest. I'm just a little bummed for my wife who has appointed herself as the designated chicken cook and put in hours of prep time into it to no avail. We'll try dunking it next time and see what happens. What you said about the rub makes sense and was echoed by another cook who's not as green as us. Congrats on your calls!

Lake Dogs · May 13, 2013

3.2 Flu Que said:
What can we do to get a call?

Need more detail to adequately answer the question. What were your scores?

In weightings, appearance score is weighted the lowest. That said, it appears to me that you have a nice presentation there but not over-the-top awesome by any stretch. The chicken seems to have a few darker spots/blotches; could be the pic though. Also, the garnish has gone far beyond framing the chicken and is now actually on top (to a degree) and preventing the judge from seeing all of the chicken.

Again, not bad, but not awesome, but this shouldn't be why you're not getting a call. If the skin is bite-through as you said, and tenderness is off, it's likely to be dry. It's most likely a taste thing. For some reason they're just not enamored with the taste of your chicken...

3.2 Flu Que · May 13, 2013

I don't have the scores in front of me right now, but we received quite a few sevens in texture and a couple in taste. Nothing lower than a seven. I'm confident the skin wasn't an issue, as it was bite through for sure. While the chicken seemed to be moist when we sampled it, there's a chance that it might have dried some while sitting in the box. We did not marinate or brine and I'm thinking that we should try that next time.

Andrew · May 14, 2013

i cant seem to crisp up the skin enough to save my life.

Porcine Perfection · May 14, 2013

3.2 Flu Que said:
I don't have the scores in front of me right now, but we received quite a few sevens in texture and a couple in taste. Nothing lower than a seven. I'm confident the skin wasn't an issue, as it was bite through for sure. While the chicken seemed to be moist when we sampled it, there's a chance that it might have dried some while sitting in the box. We did not marinate or brine and I'm thinking that we should try that next time.

One thing you can do is taste the chicken the same time the judges do. It might give you a new perspective of the finished product.

DriverWild · May 14, 2013

Ever judge a comp? I learned a lot when I did.

bigdogphin · May 14, 2013

Get rid of the parsley

NazBQ · May 14, 2013

I'm right there with you. I cooked the best looking, best tasting chicken of my life and get 28th out of 38. Finished in the top 12 in all other categories. One judge gave a 999 and the next 777.

buttburnersbbq · May 14, 2013

You can sit and analyze everything after all comps. If you have the presentation , bite through skin and tenderness. The only thing you can change is the flavor profile. We had a issue with chicken also. We we could not get better than 16 th in chicken. We had the presentation , bite through skin and tenderness. We had judges giving us 999 and others 767. Could not under stand. Only thing we could come up with is our rub has heat in it and our sauce had heat in it. We kept the heat in the rub and took the heat out of our sauce. Next comp we placed 2 nd in chicken. Just a minor flavor profile can go a long way. It all comes down to what he local people like as a flavor profile. If you travel with comps the flavor profile will change for place to place.

Nature Boy · May 14, 2013

One of the problems is that most teams know how to cook good chicken. Calls are tough to come by. It is also interesting how you hear a lot of local teams getting called.

I also believe many of the teams with top ten chicken calls don't scrape skin or spend hours prepping. They just cook really good chicken.

Keep on cranking!
Chris

BRBBQ · May 15, 2013

By your pic, Looks like lines on the two outside left pieces and dark spots in bottom row ones. In the top row and 2nd from left it dont have the same shape as the rest, make each piece almost identical in shape, size and color and scores should be higher then 7's..Would I eat it? oh yea! By your pic I'd give a 7 maybe an 8 in person. Good luck

Chicken

3.2 Flu Que

Found some matches.

ewchippe

Knows what a fatty is.

3.2 Flu Que

Found some matches.

Lake Dogs

Quintessential Chatty Farker

3.2 Flu Que

Found some matches.

Andrew

Guest

Porcine Perfection

is One Chatty Farker

DriverWild

is one Smokin' Farker

bigdogphin

is one Smokin' Farker

NazBQ

Knows what a fatty is.

buttburnersbbq

Full Fledged Farker

Nature Boy

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BRBBQ

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